Issue voting

[1][2] In the context of an election, issues include "any questions of public policy which have been or are a matter of controversy and are sources of disagreement between political parties.

[13][14][15] A voter's understanding of parties' principles is strengthened and developed over time as a person gains experience with more political events.

Prior to The People's Choice study in 1944, it was assumed by political scientists that voting was based solely on issues.

[20] However, this study found little evidence of issue voting in the United States presidential election of 1940.

The American Voter in 1960 determined that party identification was the primary force, which in turn strongly influenced the other two categories.

[23] In 1966, Key was one of the first people to conclude that voters are able to connect issues to certain candidates and cast their vote based on that information.

American Political Science Review published a symposium that hypothesized that there was a rise in issue voting in the 1960s.

Nie and Anderson published an analysis of correlations with issue orientations in 1974 that attempted to revise the Michigan School's theory of the public's political belief systems' inherent limitations.

[29] Since a large portion of American voters are moderates, an increase has been seen in the number people who choose to affiliate as Independent.

Extreme party polarization might cause Catholic voters to feel uncomfortable about both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates.

A voter may have a drastically different opinion from the available candidates on how much money should be spent on schools; this could lead the individual to vote based on party affiliation instead.

[42][43] For example, in the 1980 US presidential election the growing threat of Communism in the Eastern Hemisphere was a salient issue for voters.

[44] There were many proposed solutions to this problem; Ronald Reagan endorsed military intimidation through increased spending and innovation (the Reagan Doctrine), Jimmy Carter proposed diplomatic efforts to keep peace, and the independent John Anderson advocated a return to the containment strategy.